[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 143 (Friday, September 23, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1719]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES A. HIMES

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 23, 2011

  Mr. HIMES. Mr. Speaker, today, we expect that Palestinian President 
Mahmoud Abbas will apply for member status before the United Nations. 
This unilateral action is likely to complicate U.S. peace efforts. It 
also rejects the essential principle of solving the conflict through 
direct negotiations with Israel.
  History has taught us that a just and lasting peace must be 
negotiated. It cannot be imposed from the outside, lest it be built on 
an unstable and temporary foundation.
  The creation of a viable, autonomous and peaceful Palestinian state 
is essential, not only to address the aspirations of the Palestinian 
people, but also to ensure Israel's security in the region. A two-state 
solution is the only answer for sustainable peace, and while the 
negotiations to achieve that goal have suffered setbacks, that must be 
the objective.
  During a speech on Middle East policy at the U.S. State Department on 
May 19, 2011, President Obama stated, ``For the Palestinians, efforts 
to delegitimize Israel will end in failure. Symbolic actions to isolate 
Israel at the United Nations in September won't create an independent 
state. Palestinian leaders will not achieve peace or prosperity if 
Hamas insists on a path of terror and rejection. And Palestinians will 
never realize their independence by denying the right of Israel to 
exist.'' I agree with these sentiments.

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